Game : Robin of the Wood
Reviewed By : Heimnar
Date : 12/10/03

This game, made by Odin Computer Graphics, is a good arcade-adventure. There is a archery contest that is about to take place in the castle. You - Robin Hood - plan to take part in it...And win of course. To do so, You will have to run a lot through a big forest surrounding the castle... You will meet various creatures on your trips. There will be Norman soldiers who will shoot crossbow bolts at You, if You will try to run away. Little and at the first sight, unharmful wild boars - that in fact are much more dangerous than the soldiers. Avoid them - they occupy 2 bottom and 2 top "rows" of the forest map. They run back and forth and it is better to stay away from them, or otherwise Your life will be short. These are "normal" foes You will encounter frequently. You can easily get rid of Normans - using Your club. Boars are invulnerable. From time to time You will meet other creatures. Among them, there will be the Sheriff of Nottingham, who will instantly throw You into the dungeon. The Witch can prove both helpful and frustrating. If You carry something, she will gladly take it away. Not always giving something in return. For two herbs she will cure Robin, for three - teleport him to the castle gate. Otherwise - she will just take Your possesions away. There is also a Druid living in his hut in the forest, who will cure Robin and give him 1 extra life from time to time. And an old Ent, who appear somewhere in the forest randomly. Remember where he is, as he will stay in the same place throughout the whole game. If you start the game again - yet, he will be somewhere else. Ent will give You weapons, but You have to give him gold in return. Each piece of weaponry costs 3 bags of gold. So to get everything You need - a sword, a bow plus 3 enchanted arrows - You will have to get 15 bags in total. Where to get them? From time to time You can meet the Bishop, wandering with his escort consisting of some Norman soldiers. Kill them, and the Bishop will run away leaving two bags of gold. Do that several times and the Ent will give You something handy. Apart form gold, there are some other things You can collect. Herbs (little flowers) can be given to the Witch, if You will meet her, and basically they are used as a sort of "security buffer" for gold. Since if You don't have them, the Witch will take away Your gold. There are quivers with arrows - they will be useful, after You get a bow from the Ent. You can also find extra life here and there. You will probably notice, that there are places "pre-destined" to a certain type of encounter. Sheriff will always appear in a place between two big bushes in the middle of the screen. A Witch - in a place with a small clearing. Ent - in one of the places with "hole" in the forest. Hard to describe - but it is easily noticeable. A good idea is to make a map, and note the position of the ent, and all possible places where the Witch (or Sheriff) can appear (and avoid them). Generally, the game is very good and will give You hours of good entertainment. I personally have never finished it so far - managed to get the sword and the bow. Sometimes the Bishop is really hard to find. It has very good graphics and fantastic music in the menu. Voice synthesis on the title screen is cool as well. It is one of the games that I consider to have the best music...with other games, such as Fairlight, Nodes of Yesod... The gameplay is great although the game can be frustrating, as you can spend hours, running around the forest with no trace of Bishop (and gold).

My score - 8/10.